Eastern Regional Organization 
for Public Administration

             The Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA) will hold its 23^rd       General Assembly and Conference on “Challenges, Opportunities, and Innovations in Public Administration in the Next Decade” on February 19– 23,  2012.  The host of the Conference is the Graduate School of Public Administration, National Institute of Development Administration, Bangkok, Thailand.    For this conference, we solicit articles or research works, either as theoretical piece or practice-based output, which are relevant to the theme.   In addition to articles and research papers, we may accept a few documentations. This is aimed at promoting cooperation and expanding the networks of academics and researchers of member countries, as well as enabling conference participants to keep abreast of the most recent developments in the field of public administration.

             The second decade of the new millennium signals the beginning of a journey full of challenges as well as opportunities, arising as a consequence of the ever-increasing and accelerating pace of globalization, in which the activities of people the world over are increasingly interconnected and which mutually impact on one another.  New economic, social, environmental and political challenges could result in even greater upheavals than in the past.  It is expected that all governments will face ever-increasing pressures from their citizens, all of whom have expectations that government should be responsible for solving problems and providing citizens with the services they require.  Public administration in this new era of increased expectations calls for the development of new ways of thinking and new ways of doing things, which must not only encompass the management functions of state agencies and enterprises, but must also take into account the broader context of democratic governance.  What also needs to be taken into account is how most judiciously to manage change while at the same time preserving the best of a society’s values.  To do so, public administrators cannot merely focus on increasing efficiency and effectiveness of state agencies and enterprises, but must do so bearing in mind the importance of democratic responsibility.  The 23^rd  EROPA General Assembly and Conference on “Challenges, Opportunities, and Innovations in Public Administration in the Next Decade”  provides an excellent forum for the international community of public administrators to come together to share the ideas and information  accumulated over the years, to provide a sound knowledge base for the forthcoming decade.    We sincerely hope that by this mutual sharing of the fruits of our labor as practitioners and theorists of public administration, we will be able to contribute to the continued development and stability of our respective countries during our journey into the next decade.

             The Organizing Committee for the 23^rd EROPA General Assembly and Conference appreciates the importance of the interconnection between the theory and practice of public administration, and how vital it is to establish and maintain a close linkage between the two.   This objective can be realized through the development of public administration theories, the application of those theories in the real world, followed by a review and revision of the theories in light of empirical experience, in turn leading to further developments in the field. 

            To provide a substantive focus for the Conference theme, “Challenges, Opportunities, and Innovation in Public Administration in the Next Decade,” three sub-themes have been selected: fiscal retrenchment, the role of the state in managing new challenges, and innovations in public service delivery.

Sub-Theme 1:  Fiscal Retrenchment: Challenges, Opportunities, and   Innovation in Public Administration

Public spending has been increasing in response to many forces. An increase in economic growth and income would give rise to a need for more provision of public facilities. Increasing economic inequality tends to compel governments to increase generous social programs for social sectors that fall behind. Higher exposure to international trade, and vulnerability to the international business cycle, could force governments to be more sensitive to the need to increase safety nets for business and other social sectors. Once public expenditure has risen, the trend is very difficult to reverse. The existing spending programs are very difficult to cut. Public spending growth is maintained by interest group lobbying for more spending programs and by bureaucrats demanding larger budgets. The growth of public spending therefore poses a challenge to policymakers and public administrators. Furthermore, while government largely takes care of fiscal administration, it is also a reality that provision of services and therefore spending for these services is no longer the exclusive domain of governments.  Nontraditional sources of resources such as public-private ownership have become new modalities of mobilizing fiscal resources. This panel shall be a venue for the discussion on the causes and consequences of the growth of public spending and options for institutions and fiscal reform. Papers and presentations may focus on efforts to determine the scope and role of government; the gains from public spending program and its costs; revenue, deficits, and public debt; new trends in public expenditure management; fiscal and institutional reforms to increase efficiency in public resource allocation; and new and innovative modalities of mobilizing fiscal resources, including nontraditional fiscal resources, to meet the new challenges of the decade.

Sub-Theme 2: The Role of the State in Managing New Challenges: Opportunities and Innovation

The state in the age of globalization will have to face up to new challenges in the coming decade.  Climate change, depleted natural resources, new technology and e-governance, network alliance, food shortages, population longevity, and changing issues in human capital development, for instance, all contribute to exert new demands and options and opportunities on the management capability of the state. The “boundaryless state” has raised new challenges for the public administration.  Rather than taking unilateral action, it is imperative for states to cooperate in implementing joint solutions. Papers and presentations may focus on: management issues in tackling climate change, food shortages, etc.; issues of interstate and intraregional cooperation and coordination; the role of the state in fostering public and private cooperation in enhancing human capital development; public leadership, human resources policy, and strategies on human capital management.

Sub-Theme 3:  Innovations in Public Service Delivery

This panel focuses on government efforts to use innovations to increase the quality of their service delivery at all levels of government. It is a venue for practitioners and scholars from various countries in the region to share their experiences of successes and challenges in applying new methods, technologies, and techniques. Lessons learned may include topics such as conditions for successful innovation; electronic/mobile government and the new media; impact of social media on good governance; digital democracy, social media and their impact on service delivery; impact of decentralization on service delivery; coordination structures for applying innovations; leadership and innovation; public participation and service delivery.

GUIDELINES  FOR  PAPER  PRESENTERS

1. Each paper should focus on one of the three sub-themes of the Conference: fiscal retrenchment, role of the state in managing new challenges, and innovations in service delivery.
2. An abstract of 500 words should be sent to the NIDA Organizing Committee ( EROPA2011.papers@gmail.com ) by June15, 2011.  A brief biographical sketch of the author should be submitted alongside the abstract.  Notification of acceptance will be sent out  by June 30, 2011.
3. Each paper should not exceed 8500 words.
4. References should be complete: name of author/s, publication year, title of the article/book/journal, place of publication, and publisher.
5. Figures, graphs, and tables should be included if necessary.
6. Each presenter is allocated 18-20 minutes for presentation. Questions from participants will be entertained during the open forum provided after each session.
7. Quality PowerPoint presentations will be uploaded in the EROPA website and UN Public Administration Network (UNPAN) portal.
8. Deadlines: 
         Abstract:  On or before  June15,  2011; notification of acceptance will be sent to prospective paper writers by June 30, 2011.
         Final Paper and PowerPoint Presentation:  On or before  January 15, 2012.

Note.  All submissions should be made via email to the NIDA Organizing   Committee.

The EROPA Conference Organizing Committee The Graduate School of Public Administration National Institute of Development  Administration (NIDA) 118 Seri Thai Road, Bangkapi District, Bangkok 10240, Thailand Fax: +66-(0)2-375-1296         +66-(0)2-375-9164 Email:  EROPA2011.papers@gmail.com Contact Person:  Assistant Professor Dr.  Ploy Subevises

KEY INFORMATION

• The Grand Fourwings Convention Hotel
• National Institute of Development Administration

Conference date: February  19-23, 2012